Daily Express

The best? I’m a seven out of 10

- BORN: MAJOR TITLES WORLD CHAMPIONSH­IPS WORLD MATCHPLAY WORLD GRAND PRIX GRAND SLAM PREMIER LEAGUE

as the lights go out and Taylor prepares for his walk-on, with the packed arena knowing every time could be his last.

He said: “It’s the perfect time to go. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not retiring from work. I’ll be busier than I am now. Next year we will be doing about 160 nights on the road. I’ll enjoy it.”

Taylor has revealed how words of advice from pop giant Robbie Williams’ dad convinced him he would know when to quit. Taylor, like Williams, is from Stoke-on-Trent and The Power said: “Robbie’s dad Peter is like my second dad, I love him. “He is my guru. Any problems I’ve ever had in my life, I will say ‘Are you in? I am coming up’. “I will take a bottle or two of wine with me and we’ll chat. Sometimes I’ll go at six o’clock at night and leave at six o’clock in the morning. “I said to him, ‘How did you know when to retire?’ Pete replied, ‘You will know. You’ll wake up one morning and you’ll just know that’s it.’ And so I woke up one morning and knew I’d had enough. I can’t keep the schedule now.

“At my age, it’s the tiredness. I go to hotels and I can’t sleep properly. The next morning you are knackered, while all these youngsters are skipping around like fresh daisies.

“I have always given it my best shot, I always want to win a tournament if I can but deep down, when I was younger, I knew, ‘I could win this’. Whereas when you become 57, you think, ‘I am not going to last a year’.”

TAYLOR’S TRIUMPHS

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 ??  ?? TROPHY KING: Taylor with one of his 16 world championsh­ips
TROPHY KING: Taylor with one of his 16 world championsh­ips

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